Improvement in railroad-tracks



E. E. LEWIS.

RAILROAD TRACK.

3 Patented 0ct.31.1876.

THE GRAPHIC NJA'.

UNITED STATES PATENT QFFICE EBENEZER E. LEWIS, OF GENEVA, ASSIGNOR OFONE-FOURTH HIS RIGHT TO DAVID P. DEY, OF WATKINS, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAILROAD-TRACKS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 183,766, dated October31, 1876; application filed December 31, 1875.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EBENEZER E. LEwIs, of Geneva, in the county ofOntario and State of New York, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Railroads, which improvement is fully set forth in thefollowing specification, reference being bad to the accompanyingdrawings.

The object of my invention is to make a railroad-rail with a flange onone side of the rail only at the base, and the opposite side from theflange vertical or nearly so, from the base up to the rounded part ortop portion of the rail, and the rounded top part with the largestportion of it extending outward over the flange, thus making that partof the top most acted upon by the car-wheels rolling over it, directlyabove the vertical portion which supports it. Below the rounded top themiddle part increases in thickness downward; and a side plate is to beused at the union of the rails, ribbed and notched to give it strengthand keep it in place; also wedges to keep, them firmly united, and awooden saddle between the rail and tie-all fitted into the upperprojection of a metallic railroad-tie, as shown in the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure 1 is an end view of the rails and side of thetie; Fig. 2, a view of the side plate; Fig. 3, wedges to hold the partstogether; Fig. 4, a side view of the saddle.

The letters of reference refer to the same parts in each figure.

A is one of the railroad-rails composed of a base to rest upon the tie,a vertical portion to connect the base and top, and the top part onwhich the car-wheels roll, as represented in Fig. 1. The base iscomposed of the lower part of the vertical portion and the flange on oneside of it only. The vertical portion extends upward, with one side atright angles, or nearly so, with the base and line of the tie; the otherside inclines so as to leave the lower part the thickest, to give anyrequired weight and strength to the rail. The top is made rounded toform a face for the wheel on the top and flange of the wheel at the sideand with the rounded part above the flange the largest, thus having thepart acted most upon by the wheels supported to prevent being broken,and make it more durable. B is the metallic railroad-tie that supportsthe rails. It has a seat made in it for each rail. The seat is made toreceive this kind of rail only, and the side plate 0 for the union ofthe rails and wedges, and, when made for the middle of the rails, forthe rail and wedge only. G isthe side plate. It is made of iron orsteel, and made to rest upon the flange of the rail, and extend in widthupward to the top part, and any length required. It has a rib extendingalong the middle of the outside, and notches near each end that receivea portion of the tie and keep it in place, and, when put in place andthe wedges driven, will hold the tie in place and strengthen the railand keep it in place. D is a wedge that is to be driven within therail-seat at the inside of the rail, and, when made to extend from onetie to another where rails are united, it should be longer than thedistance of the ties apart and wide enough to extend up from the flangeto the top part of the rail, and in thickness not more than the distancethe top projects from the vertical side of the rail, and when used inties for the middle of the rail the wedge may be shorter, and only passthrough one tie. The points of the wedges are slitted into severalparts, so that when they are properly driven one of the parts may bebent outward, and thus keep the wedges in place. E is the saddle, thatis placed between the tie and lower part of the rail. It may be made ofwood or other material, and should be as wide as the base of the railand as long as the width of the tie, or it may be made to extend acrosstwo or more ties. The under side must be made to fit upon the top of therailseat under the rail. This saddle may be used in every tie, or onlyin part, as proposed.

What I claim as new and my invention, and desire to secure by LettersPatent, is-

l. A railroad-rail, with the upper rounded part larger on one side ofits support, and the support vertical on one side and inclined on theother and largest at the base, substan tially as specified.

5. In combination with the side plate G and wedge D, the rail-seat forthe rail A in the tie B, as herein specified.

EBENEZER E. LEWIS.

Witnessesz' J OHN L. LEWIS, CHARLES KETOIIUM.

